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  Lawrence said, “I know, Sean. That kid’s capable of so much more. I just want to smack these punks upside the head sometimes. The odds of most of them making a college team are slim to none. They need to keep up with their academics.”

  Sean nodded and dug his hands into his trouser pockets. “I worked with Butch for two hours last night. And that was after football practice. He has a chemistry quiz today and he needs at least a B minus.”

  Gigi didn’t interrupt. It was gratifying to hear how much the coaches cared about their players’ schoolwork. No wonder Sean looked exhausted, dressed as he was in rumpled khakis and a golf shirt; he’d been tutoring one of his players in the evening.

  He rubbed the back of his neck. “The kid’s barely squeaking by in Algebra Two. I tried to help him out, but man, it’s been years since I did that stuff. If you don’t use it, you lose it was never so true.” The other two nodded. “Math was never my strong suit anyway. I hope it doesn’t get more complicated, or I won’t be able to help him.”

  “I’m lost without my calculator.” The words were out of her mouth before Gigi even knew she was going to speak.

  The three turned to face her. Fred openly ogled her breasts, while Lawrence shifted his attention to the box in her hands. Sean’s gaze met hers, and a shiver ran down her spine. Warmth pooled below her belly.

  No more office relationships. If she repeated the mantra enough times, maybe the attraction she felt for him would fade.

  Lawrence broke Gigi’s trance by stepping between her and Sean to point at the bakery box. “If there are donuts in that box, then I might just have to propose marriage.” She chuckled at the tall, slender man who she’d heard was soon to celebrate his silver wedding anniversary with the school nurse.

  “Oh sure, you just want me to share.” She smiled at Lawrence and extended the box, lifting the lid back with one hand.

  “You’re right about that.” He grabbed a chocolate-frosted donut, his similarly colored cocoa eyes twinkling with delight. “I knew there was a heart of gold to go with that pretty face.”

  Fred pushed his way forward. “Lawrence, it would take a blind man not to notice Gigi’s heart of gold.” If he’d been looking at her face instead of her breasts, Gigi might have taken his words as a compliment.

  She extended the box toward Sean last.

  “No, thanks.” His smile came and went in a flash before he turned to Fred. “I need to talk to you before the first bell.” He put his hand on the man’s shoulder and steered him out the door.

  Lost in a daydream about him wrapping his muscular arm around her, Gigi watched them leave. Lawrence snagged another donut from the box and tipped his head in their direction.

  “You’ll have to excuse Fred. The man’s toupee shrank in the dryer and it’s so tight it’s shutting down what little brain function he had. Don’t worry, though. Looks like Sean’s gonna set him straight.”

  She blinked her way out of her daydream. Was Sean, at this moment, telling Fred not to be such a horse’s ass? Fred didn’t intimidate her, but Gigi appreciated the other two men’s consideration. Being all too familiar with Fred’s type, she figured Sean’s efforts wouldn’t do any good. But such a chivalrous gesture only proved to increase her admiration, which was already at a dangerously high level.

  No more office relationships. No more office relationships. No more office relationships.

  Why was it when she finally found some resolve, she meets a really great guy? Sean genuinely cared about his players. Enough to tutor one in the evening. He had helped her with the schedule problem even though it had made him late for practice. Plus she’d been giving him the cold shoulder.

  And the misunderstanding about the note, well, he had tried to be kind in turning her down when he thought she’d wanted him to ask her out. Guilt ate away at her conscience. It was well past time to tell him about the ding to his car.

  Lawrence studied her. “If Fred upset you, I can speak with him, too.”

  What kind of expression had been on her face? She gave Lawrence a reassuring smile. “That’s okay. I’ve handled plenty of Freds.” Which was exactly why Gigi should have learned to steer clear of personal relationships with male co-workers.

  “I just bet you have.” Lawrence chuckled, his pleasant baritone soothing. He popped the last bite of donut in his mouth and grabbed a pile of papers off his desk.

  “Thanks again for the donuts. Have a good one.”

  “It’s Miss Thompson, isn’t it?”

  Gigi looked up from her computer monitor to see a plump woman in a billowing black skirt approach her desk. Her gray hair was cut short, and a triple-strand of black crystal beads accented the round neck of her multi-colored blouse. Her assured manner and determined expression made Gigi pop up from her chair like a crisp piece of bread from a toaster.

  “That’s right. But please, call me Gigi.” She extended her hand. The woman took it without hesitation and gave her a single firm shake, smiling earnestly. Jeweled rings sparkled from each of her thick fingers.

  “I’m L. R. Billings, but unless a student is present, feel free to call me L. R. Welcome to Newtown High.”

  Ah, yes. Al had mentioned the name of the principal, and that she was attending some Ohio Department of Education meetings in Columbus until yesterday. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. How was your trip?”

  “Columbus is a fine city.” L. R.’s features softened somewhat and her grey eyes glistened. “Although it’s changed quite a bit since I did my undergraduate work at OhioState.”

  “So, you’re a Buckeye?” Gigi relaxed with the principal’s growing smile.

  “We’re all Buckeyes, my dear. So, how is everything going?” She quickly scanned the office as if looking for evidence of chaos.

  Gigi held her breath. She’d inherited her father’s obsession with organization, and although the desktops were not yet clear of papers, they appeared orderly.

  “Everyone’s helping me get acclimated,” she said, relieved to know it was true.

  “Glad to hear it. I was a bit concerned with the timing of Annie’s departure, but, it seems that you’re getting caught up with Al’s piles. Did he mention the spirit-wear sale to you?”

  He had, right before he’d left for yet another meeting. He’d also handed her a page of notes from the principal. She picked it up from the top of a neat stack on her desk for L.R. to see.

  “Good, we need to run with this.”

  Gigi squnited at the chicken-scratchings filling the page.

  “I just got off the phone with Tony Walters,” L.R. said. “His son is a freshman football player. Mr. Walters makes logo T-shirts and sweatshirts. He’s offered us a discount and will do a special design for the athletic fundraiser.”

  The woman’s exuberance was contagious, and suddenly marketing ideas whirled through Gigi’s head.

  L.R. rubbed her palms together. “We could sell tees and sweatshirts to students and their families as well as the community at large.”

  “Would this be strictly a football logo?” Gigi asked.

  “Not necessarily. Tony was going to come up with a couple designs, but if you have any ideas, I’d be interested in seeing them.”

  “If the design featured the Lion’s mascot rather than the football team, we could sell them for all the Fall sports: cross-country, soccer, golf, and football.”

  “That’s a good idea, but I’m not sure we have a large enough volunteer pool to staff a booth at all those events.”

  Gigi tapped her index finger on top of another stack of papers, grinning. “I have all the new parent volunteer forms here, with a few trickling in every day. I’d planned on updating the database tomorrow. After that’s done, maybe I could work out a schedule.”

  What would work best for parents? Her old friend, Jan, now a harried soccer mom, came to mind. “Short shifts would allow busy parents to say yes, even if that means only selling during part of an event.”

  “Good thinking. Sounds like
it could work. When you can, I’d like you to get started on that. I have a stack of other things to deal with since I’ve been gone, so I also want you to get in touch with Tony. Here’s his number.” L.R. handed her a Post-it note.

  Gigi’s pulse did a little hop-skip-jump. This woman already trusted her with such a large undertaking? Her previous employers thought all she was capable of was brewing coffee, answering the telephone and looking pretty at a receptionist’s desk.

  Before she could thank L.R. for her confidence, the principal barreled ahead. “Bring me his designs when you get them. And do you think you could come up with a flier to send home with the students?”

  “Of course.” Enthusiasm fed Gigi’s confidence. “Is there anything I should tell Mr. Matthews?” She grabbed a pad of paper and began scribbling notes.

  “Al’s got a full plate right now and most of the work will to fall to you anyway. Just keep him informed of what’s going on.”

  Gigi hummed with excitement. “When would you like those designs?”

  “As soon as possible. I know you have quite a bit to get in order here.” L.R. looked at Gigi’s and Al’s desks and smiled. “But it appears you’re well on your way. See what you can do.”

  A good-natured challenge if she’d ever heard one. Gigi felt more professional satisfaction than she could ever remember. And she relished the feeling. “I’ll give Mr. Walters a call and get back with you.”

  Sean closed his eyes, rested his forehead on his folded arms and granted himself a reprieve from the pathetic essay written by one of his first period students. Had Tiffany read one page of her text or listened to any of his lectures on the Civil War? From this drivel, it appeared that she’d watched Gone With The Wind and dedicated a full twenty minutes to writing her paper.

  He inhaled deeply to clear his head. With that, the memory of Gigi’s scent crowded out his troubled thoughts and sent his mind wandering. He pictured the way her emerald eyes lit up when she smiled. The way her long red hair curled, almost reverently, around the mounds of her breasts. How would those curls feel as he ran his fingers through them? How would they feel waving against his skin as she rhythmically rode above him?

  To Sean, sex had always been a simple scratch to appease an itch, one easily seen to by any number of attractive women. But for some unidentifiable reason, he suspected sex would be very different with Gigi. The idea of being intimate with her and then moving on to someone else was difficult to imagine. Not that he would find out firsthand. He didn’t want to invite trouble from Al. Gigi was off-limits as long as they both worked here. And his social life was on hold until further notice anyway.

  Which was just as well. He’d probably fall asleep on a bed partner immediately after coming. Not the best way to impress the ladies. Yet just thinking about Gigi had him in a constant state of semi-arousal. And when he was around her, the full-fledged hard-ons he suffered rivaled those he’d endured in his teens.

  “Sean?” Gigi called his name, her tone hushed.

  For half a second Sean thought was dreaming again. Then he popped his head up and stood, his brain scrambling for a way to look less guilty. “Yeah? I, ah, was just taking a break.” He fidgeted with his red pen. “These essays aren’t going as well as I’d hoped.”

  “You don’t have to explain. I just didn’t want to disturb you if—”

  “I wasn’t sleeping,” he said, perhaps a bit too insistently.

  “Oh, I believe you.” Her gaze flitted nervously around the room, then paused on his poster. Sean wondered if she was a Corvette lover. After long seconds, he cleared his throat.

  “Sorry.” She straightened her spine. “There was something I needed to speak to you about. Two things really.”

  Curiosity revived him. “All right.”

  “First, I wanted to thank you for finding the error with the schedules. I didn’t get a chance to properly thank you yesterday.”

  “No problem.” The numerous ways she could properly thank him filled his head, horn-dog that he was. Sean mentally forced his attention away from that train of thought before his body reacted in kind. Something about the way her gaze flitted around made her appear tense, which in turn made his shoulder muscles tighten.

  “I’m sorry it made you late to practice.”

  “No big deal.” His shoulders relaxed again. “I’m glad it was a simple posting error.”

  “I got it corrected this morning.”

  “Good.” Sean lost himself in her rich green gaze. They stood silent for a long moment before she shifted her feet, bringing him out of his trance.

  “The second matter I needed to discuss with you was a misunderstanding we’ve had.”

  Huh? They’d had a misunderstanding? That was news to him. “I’m not following.”

  “I’m talking about the note with my name and phone number on your windshield.”

  Sean had finally let go of the guilt at her discomfort, so he was sorry the subject had to come up again. Especially since there was nothing on this earth he’d rather do than go out with Gigi. And have sex. Lots of it.

  She nervously twirled the ring on her finger. “I didn’t put it there because I wanted you to ask me out.”

  The meaning of her words took a second to sink in. “Then why did you put it there?”

  Gigi nibbled her plump bottom lip, her obvious unease helping him look past desire. “I’ll preface this by saying how very sorry I am.”

  His pulse quickened and the fingers of foreboding gently squeezed his throat. “For what?”

  Gigi’s gaze flicked up over his shoulder and then back to his face. A little wrinkle marred her forehead and her eyes glistened. “The day I came for my interview, there was only one parking spot left in the lot.” She inhaled a deep breath. “I...” She looked behind him a second time.

  And he immediately knew. Her visual slip brought on realization. Dread sank heavy and low in his gut.

  Chapter Seven

  “I accidentally put a little ding on the passenger side of your car.”

  Shit. He hadn’t given his car a thorough once-over in over a week. Between class work, after-school practice and tutoring Butch, he’d been half asleep when he got to his car in the evening. What an idiot.

  “You left your name and number so I could call you about an insurance claim?” Luckily she was an honest person. Great, add that to her growing list of admirable traits.

  She nibbled on her bottom lip and nodded. “Yes.”

  Little did she know how many frickin’ times he’d read and reread that note. I should have known she wasn’t interested in me.

  “But I did mention the note the next day. You should have straightened me out then.”

  She folded her hands in front of her, and the sweet green of her eyes softened his irritation. “You’re right, I should have. And I meant to.” Then Gigi averted her gaze and lightly scratched at a pit in the surface of his desk with a crimson-painted nail. “To be honest, you bruised my pride when you assumed I was hitting on you.”

  Of, course. The woman probably had more men asking her out than she could handle. Why would he have thought she needed to solicit dates? His shoulders slumped. I’m an idiot.

  His remaining energy drained out through his shoes. “Gigi, I’ve been putting in so many hours in the evening, I’m just not thinking straight sometimes.” He resigned himself to embarrassment as well as the rest of the news.

  “Just how bad is this ding?”

  “It’s small, very small. And I promise I’ll take care of the damages.” She studied him. Was she waiting for him to lose his temper?

  But he couldn’t. Gigi wasn’t some careless stranger who’d tried to skulk away. She was a conscientious coworker who was admitting to the accident of her own free will. Funny, he’d anticipated the first damage to his car would make him furious. But he couldn’t muster up the energy.

  “Okay. I’ll have to get some estimates for the repairs.” Just when he’d find the time to squeeze that in, he w
asn’t sure. December, maybe? “Have you called your insurance company, yet?”

  “No, I was waiting to see if I could afford to cover the repairs myself. That way they won’t jack up my rates.” Her brows rose. “Is that okay with you?”

  The bell signaling the end of fifth period rang. Sean transferred the stack of essays back into his bag. So much for getting the papers graded. “That’s fine,” he said. “It’ll take me a while to get that done, though.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” Gigi said, giving him an uncertain smile. “I’m really sorry, Sean.”

  “I appreciate you telling me. Most people would have driven off and never given it another thought.”

  “I wouldn’t call myself a candidate for sainthood...”

  Looking the way she did, that was unlikely.

  “...and my parents never bothered taking my brother and me to Sunday school, but somewhere along the way I learned the Golden Rule.” Her smile began slowly and spread until it lit up her face.

  The sound of a teenage girl’s squeal from the hallway snapped Sean back to real time. “Shi—” He shook his head. “I’m late. Gotta go.”

  Why was it he was always running late, and away from Gigi? He took off down the hall, hoping none of his sixth period students set a fire before he could get to the classroom.

  Gigi parked Heidi’s car in front of Rafferty’s Auto Repair and dropped the keys into her friend’s hand when they met at the door. “Thanks so much for letting me use your car the past few days.”

  “No problem. Rafe and I still want to spend every minute together, so I didn’t really need it.” The look on Heidi’s face was pure bliss. Being married to Rafe was making her happier than Gigi could ever remember. She pretended to hunt for something in her purse while envy-triggered moisture pooled in her eyes. She blinked it away. “So the honeymoon’s not over yet?”

  “Far from it.” Heidi waggled her eyebrows but didn’t elaborate.

  Although Gigi would love to hear all about Heidi’s love life and live vicariously through her experiences, her friend’s sexual escapades with her new husband were none of her business. And with the challenge of this fundraiser project, she didn’t even have time to curl up with a good romance novel and pretend she was married to the perfect hero who couldn’t get his fill of wild, passionate sex. And now that she thought about it, why was it every romance hero she pictured in her head looked exactly like Sean?